WHAT ABOUT BOB?
Screenplay by Tom SchulmanSynopsis by Brian Aldrich
LEO MARVIN is a famous psychiatrist who has just written a successful best-seller titled "Baby-Steps". He is basking in his fame and preparing for his annual vacation with his family at the lake. An old colleague refers a patient to him. The patient is BOB WILEY, a multi-phobic personality who is almost completely dysfunctional. Bob is afraid of everything. He works at home, selling dental supplies over the phone. He is divorced, but remains friends with his remarried and pregnant ex-wife. His mother, a would-be artist, has no time for him as she is basking in her own fame. Leo sees Bob as his last appointment before his vacation. Leo gives Bob some helpful advice as well as an autographed copy of his book. Bob finds the advice helpful and actually begins to overcome his fears, but he becomes frantic when Leo leaves on vacation.
Leo and his family take off for the lake. His doting wife, FAY, has never made a decision by herself her whole life. His daughter, ANNA, is also suffocated by her father and doesn't feel free to develop relationships with boys. His son, SIGMUND, is obsessed with death, wears black all the time, and doesn't have a great buddy relationship with his father. Meanwhile, Maria Shriver is coming to the lake in a few days with her news crew to shoot an interview with Leo. Leo is obsessed with himself.
Bob does well for a few days, but begins to lose it. He manipulates Leo's exchange operator to connect him with Leo. Leo, angry that Bob has intruded into his privacy, hangs up, referring him to a colleague, but Bob doesn't want to speak to anyone else except his new found savior. Bob shows up on Leo's doorstep. Leo loses all patience with Bob and tells him to get lost, but Bob will not leave him alone. Finally, Leo gives Bob a few moments of time, advising Bob to take a "vacation" from his neuroses.
Bob takes Leo literally and rents a cottage on the lake. Leo is furious and forbids his family from allowing Bob inside the house. But, Bob is a charming pest. Fay, Anna, and Siggy all like Bob and enjoy him. Leo can't stand him. Bob motivates Anna to go out with a local boy, Siggy to think about life instead of death, and Fay to go against Leo's orders for once and invite Bob for dinner. Maria Shriver and her news crew show up and Bob gets invited on the show. He screws everything up. Leo is furious and at the end of his rope. He tries to have Bob committed but Bob charms all the doctors who soon release him. Leo tries to kill Bob, but only succeeds in blowing up his own house. Finally, Leo accepts fate and becomes Bob's friend. He loses his medical license, but becomes a successful dental supplies salesman. Bob goes back to college and becomes a successful Park Avenue psychologist.
Summary Criticism: The script is fun, zany, and ridiculous, but also terribly predictable.
What About Bob? - imdb
Tom Schulman - imdb
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